%*i)(\ BOTANICAL SURVEY OF DTSMAL SWAMP REGION. 



as affecting water conditions. Chemical (inferences play here a very 

 subordinate part, and are practically limited to the possible action 

 of humie acids in the more swampy soils. 



FOREST FORMATIONS. 

 MIXED FOREST. 



The forest which still covers large areas of the Coastal plain is 

 usually a mixture of coniferous and of deciduous trees. Where the 

 original conditions have not been disturbed, the loblolly pine (Pinus 

 fued(t) is still the dominant species, as it probably was originally in 

 almost every part of the region where this formation prevails. Not 

 infrequently, especially near the strand, Pinus taeda is still almost 

 the only tree in tracts of considerable extent. Generally, however, 

 hardwood species are largely intermixed, especially where the original 

 growth of pine has been cut away. In the latter case it almost inva- 

 riably follows that the various deciduous trees, which often form a 

 low undergrowth in the pine woods, spring up into tall trees when 

 the removal of the pines gives them the needed space for develop- 

 ment. On stiffer soils, especially away from the sea, hardwoods of 

 several species frequently constitute the strongly predominant or, 

 even in small areas, sole element of the forest grow h. Generally, 

 however, the mixture of deciduous and of evergreen trees (pine) is so 

 intimate that it is altogether inexpedient to attempt the delimitation 

 of two distinct formations, one of evergreen, the other of deciduous 

 forest, as is elsewhere often practicable. The better plan will be to 

 present a discussion of this forest formation as a whole, and then 

 descriptions of a series of small local areas, showing the actual asso- 

 ciation of species in each case with reference to the special conditions 

 of soil. The data for such descriptions were in every case recorded 

 on the spot, with notebook in hand. 



Pinus taeda, the hard, short-leaf, loblolly, or old-field pine, as it is 

 variously designated, is unquestionably the species which, as a proper 

 tree, 1 is most abundant, in this association. In its present condition 

 1 his pine is most frequently a small tree, S or 10 meters high and 3 

 decimeters or less in diameter near the base (tig. 7:5). In this con- 

 dition it is doubtless usually " second growth " on land from which 

 the original forest has been cleared. On the innermost dunes and 

 immediately behind them, as we have seen, the pine is also usually a 

 small tree, but here it is for the most part the original growth that 

 remains. Physical conditions are, in most cases, responsible for the 

 small size of the trees in this situation, the soil being light and poor 

 in plant) food and the shelter from wind being slight. Farther inland, 



'The sweet-gum (Liquidambar) is perhaps more abundant, if individuals below 

 tree size (height of about <> meters) are taken into account. 



